Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo picked up his sixth win of the season with 10 strikeouts in a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday afternoon. Alec Bohm’s 4-RBI performance powered the Phillies offense in an important series win against another high-caliber National League ball club. “That’s a good club over there,” Thomson said via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast of the game. “They can really swing the bats. To win the season series against them is huge.”
Phillies rally to huge win over Cubs
Luzardo responded with a fantastic outing following a pair of forgettable recent performances where he allowed 20 runs. The lefty returned to form like the first dozen of starts in red pinstripes allowing 5 hits with 10 strikeouts over six innings of work. Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner broke up the shutout with a double in the fourth inning.
Relievers Max Lazar and Michael Mercado secured the multi-run lead over the remaining nine outs after Luzardo’s exit, overriding concerns about depth and keeping the big-hitters quiet.
The Phillies offense scored three runs in the first inning behind smart base running and timely offense. Trea Turner opened the game with a single and moved to second base on a Kyle Schwarber walk. The duo executed a double steal putting Turner on third before a ground ball by Alec Bohm allowed Turner to score the game’s first run.
Max Kepler drove in a second run on a double to the right field wall, before a hard hit RBI single by J.T. Realmuto pushed the advantage to 3-0. “I thought we swung the bats very well.” Thomson said on the broadcast. “A lot of hits, a lot of singles, but I liked our approach.”
In the third inning, Schwarber mashed his 21st home run of the season in the third inning to increase the advantage to 4-0. Nick Castellanos was inches from a back-to-back home run as the ball hit the top of the metal railing in left center field, but fell back into the playing area for a triple. He was stranded at third base to end the scoring threat in the third.
Bohm stole the show in the middle frames with a two-run double in the 4th inning to inflate the lead to 6-0. He followed that up with a solo home run to center field in the 7th to finish off the scoring in the contest at 7-2. Yeah, the Cubs scored some runs in there, but the Phillies had things locked down.
The Phillies welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Citizens Bank Park for an inter-league battle this weekend. Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, and Zach Wheeler are the expected Phillies starters against Toronto.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
